Jonathan Mandl awarded Snowsports Official Award for 2025

Jonathan Mandl is one of the three Snowsports Official Award winners in the 2025 Snow Australia Community Sport Awards. 

A dedicated and passionate member of the Australian snow sports community since 2005, Jonathan’s journey all started as a parent volunteer when his children entered the sport. 

Deeply involved with the Radford College Snowsports Program, he has supported generations of students by providing coaching, competition guidance, equipment maintenance, and logistical help. 

“It’s an incredible honour to be recognised and I’m very humbled because there are so many other fellow Interschools volunteers out there doing a great job every event day too,” Mandl said. 

“I’m part of a fantastic community of like-minded snowsports volunteers who love seeing young athletes having fun, developing their skills and gaining experience through the challenge of competition.”

As a long-time Snow Australia Interschools volunteer, Mandl is known for mentoring new officials, sharing his vast knowledge, and creating a supportive, welcoming environment at every event. 

“Coming from a snowsports club background with a strong culture of encouragement and fostering fun-based learning, as Junior Race Development Program coordinator and Club Captain, I was well-versed in supporting our next generations of athletes to develop their skillsets in alpine and Nordic disciplines,” he said. 

“I highly recommend course official volunteers new to Interschools to invest a little time viewing the excellent resources in the Volunteer Course Officials Info Hub on the Snow Australia Interschools website. 

“You’ll have almost every question answered to have you feeling fully confident ahead of your first duty and your supervising official on your course on the day will brief you and answer any further queries.”

Whether marshalling, gatekeeping, or teaching on the slopes, he embodies generosity, patience, and enthusiasm, making a lasting impact on athletes and volunteers alike. 

“A fellow snowsports coordinator once described to me how much they loved the ‘contact high’ you get from being close to high performance athletes and teams, sharing their highlights and successes in the adrenaline rush of competitive snowsports,” he said. 

“That’s also been my experience, but there’s also great reward supporting athletes in tough times when things don’t go to plan, relating experiences and perspectives to encourage learnings from those situations and building resilience. 

“Being available and accessible as a third party to listen to, and engage in supportive, reflective conversations with young athletes has been very fulfilling over the years.”

Respected for both his expertise and kindness, Mandl continues to be a cornerstone of grassroots snow sports development in Australia. 

“Over the years I’ve been privileged to witness the development of Australia’s best snowsports athletes while officiating at their events including siblings Valentino and Ali Guseli riding courses all the way through from Division 5 to Division 1,” he said. 

“I’m also proud to have witnessed the progression of my own sons and their many teammates, female and male athletes, often multiple siblings coming through on snowboard and skis, which is always incredibly satisfying.

“I’ve also been grateful for Olympian and Paralympian guest speakers over the years who generously made themselves available to share insights of their careers with Radford snowsports athletes such as Laura Peel, Greta Small, Adam Lambert and Paralympic Guide Amelia Hodgson. 

“The adage ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ is very true as developing athletes need strong role models to look up to and imagine themselves achieving that elite level, knowing each was also a teen Snow Australia Interschools competitor just like them.”